Florida Georgia Line’s Response to Tom Petty: “U Think We Care?”
It’s getting chippy out there folks, and the war of words swirling around the current direction of country music is heating up.
Yesterday the big story was that Tom Petty had said some disparaging things about the direction of country music to the Rolling Stone. In an interview that followed up on Petty saying from the stage of the Beacon Theater in New York City that modern country was “bad rock with a fiddle,” Petty elaborated on the point, saying in part,
I’m sure there are people playing country that are doing it well, but they’re just not getting the attention that the shittier stuff gets…I don’t really see a George Jones or a Buck Owens or any anything that fresh coming up. I’m sure there must be somebody doing it, but most of that music reminds me of rock in the middle Eighties where it became incredibly generic and relied on videos.
Though Petty’s comments did not mention pop country band Florida Georgia Line or anyone else specifically, it is probably safe to conclude that the duo that has been making headlines themselves for recently deposing a list of country music Hall of Famers at the top of Billboard’s longest-running #1 songs of all time list, is probably part of the problem Petty was talking about.
Well earlier today on Twitter, Florida Georgia Line responded to someone linking to a story on the Petty comments with a spirited, “U think we care?”
And just in case you’re wondering if it is actually Brian Kelley and/or Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line that are responding to tweets (and using ‘U’ in their signature, lazy, Ebonic-driven style of writing doesn’t clue you in enough), they responded only a few minutes later with this tweet.
And yesterday they also tweeted:
I don’t think anyone was under the impression that Florida Georgia Line cared about anything uttered by anyone over the age of 35 that wasn’t directly responsible for their success, but to see the duo say it themselves and disrespect a man who among other accomplishments held is own in a supergroup that included Bob Dylan and George Harrison, and has sold an estimated 60 million albums, is still quite shocking. Scott Borchetta should have warned them that in these instances, they would be better served to keep their mouth shut and count their money.
August 6, 2013 @ 7:27 pm
And yes folks, I know there’s been a lot of Florida Georgia Line coverage lately. But these dudes have become a flashpoint in the fight to Save Country Music, and if they are going to disrespect a legend of music, something must be said, and someone should hold their feet to the fire. It’s gone too far, and this is one of those moments to draw a line in the sand.
August 8, 2013 @ 8:48 am
Amen, brother!
August 10, 2013 @ 8:43 am
Well La-De-Frickin-DUHH !!! no shit they don’t care. Didn’t their crappy , venal, plebeian targeted pop music speak for itself ?
August 6, 2013 @ 7:33 pm
Totally juvenile and not at all surprising response from FGL. Of course they don’t care. Therein lies the problem. I doubt that they know much at all of the history of the genre they are helping to ruin.
August 8, 2013 @ 12:36 pm
FGL don’t care about the history of country music all they care about is the money they are making. There was a girl group a few years back. They were on tour in Japan and were asked a question about Mother Maybelle Carter. The reply “Who is that’? How sad.
August 6, 2013 @ 8:04 pm
I was proud to learn about country legends at a young age and glad to have an fm station that helped.
August 8, 2013 @ 8:06 am
I’m more grateful for CMT showing videos of George Jones and Dolly Parton when their videos were played in the 90’s. (This is an 89 baby talking so I would remember)
July 29, 2016 @ 4:16 pm
89 baby…. lol
August 6, 2013 @ 8:20 pm
I think we’ve finally figured out what Brian Kelley does.
August 6, 2013 @ 11:17 pm
Good comment!
August 6, 2013 @ 8:35 pm
so when they say “Gonna keep doin #us”…they really mean toeing the Scott Borchetta Line right?
August 8, 2013 @ 2:05 am
….or spending quality alone time together in the back room of the tour bus.
August 6, 2013 @ 8:38 pm
The current state of country music sort of reminds me of where metal was in the late 1990s and early 2000s when nu-metal (metal’s version of FGL) was thriving and the entire genre hit a creative nadir…fortunately for metal fans, there was a glut of off-the-radar bands to fall back on – as with country today…it just took some searching – namely Napster – to find it.
I saw Sturgill Simpson play last month (holy shit, was he great) and was bummed that only 30-40 people were there…however, it later dawned on me that I saw Mastodon in that same town 12 years ago play for an even smaller crowd…11 years ago, it was the same deal w/ Lamb of God – maybe 25 people…but that was when metal was just starting to come out of its nu-metal rut…talented bands were out there, but it took time…over a decade later, Mastodon, Lamb of God and bands like Clutch and High on Fire are headliners and metal has become arguably the most multi-faceted genre around…there’s even a “blackgrass” (black metal + bluegrass) sound in the works…sure, metal still has a corporate component (the folks responsible for Hot Topic), but it has its place and is mocked accordingly…zero fucks are given about chart positions by nearly all of the credible labels as they follow the blueprint of the aforementioned bands – tour your ass off.
While metal has a huge advantage over country – an insatiable European market – there is such a glut of off-the-grid, multi-faceted talent playing under what arguably constitutes the country banner, that there is bound to be a shift at some point…that and easy access to info and tunes – be it from sites like this, iTunes, illegal DLs, or social media – suggests that something has to give – much like it did w/ metal over the past decade.
August 7, 2013 @ 1:23 pm
Country has a huge European following as well. Lots of lesser known acts that don’t get exposure in the states thanks to Nashvegas are very well received overseas. It’s a huge martket for all kinds of music. They don’t have beiber fever. They actually appreciate all kinds of music. I watched an interview with Brian Setzer and his first gold record wasn’t in the States or even Britain but from Norway. I’m not a heavy metal fan but I appreciate hard working musicians.
August 7, 2013 @ 9:34 pm
I’m not saying country doesn’t have a presence in Europe; just that it’s not a niche presence like metal has…I saw Red Fang play a club in Memphis a couple years ago to 100 people tops…I saw them in the UK last year at a club w/ at least 400 people…it’s a recurring theme that labels and bands have picked up on, and they are wisely cashing in…Europeans lay claim to inventing metal, and it’s hard to argue w/ their ongoing zeal for the genre…a lot of U.S. metal bands spend their summers playing the lucrative festival circuit in Europe b/c it simply pays a lot better than U.S. tours…they hit 7-10 of the massive festivals like Wacken and Hellfest with 50K-100K attendance, and then they cram in shows at smaller – yet packed – venues.
March 29, 2016 @ 6:47 am
Wait who typed these posted to instagram anyway, tyler or brian?
August 6, 2013 @ 8:39 pm
How did they disrespect him? He disrespected them first, don’t give it if you can’t take it, simple as that.
And saying “U think we care?” isn’t really disrespectful anyways, why should they care? Why would anyone care what anyone says about you? Is this high school? No, it’s grown ups in the music industry.
Guess they should have said “Oh we’re sorry Tom, we will completely change our style to better suite your specific tastes, and flip the middle finger to the millions of fans we have that love our current music, buying our records, and selling out our shows. Screw this, this ones for you Tom!”
Good grief.
August 6, 2013 @ 11:31 pm
They should have ignored the comment, as I’m sure they do to dozens of Twitter trolls on a daily basis. Nothing good could come from saying anything except showing respect for petty and moving on. They responded by choice, and with a poor choice of words. And by saying what they said, they proved why Petty’s previous comment were valid and poignant.
August 7, 2013 @ 8:28 am
Perhaps you’re related to Dave Dudd or attended the same schools as he?
August 7, 2013 @ 2:07 pm
I’m not sure how you see that Tom disrespected them first, if at all?… Tom simply stated his opinion that country music has changed for the worst. Obviously FGL felt a little offended by the comment, hence why they choose to comment. They knew that their music is what Tom’s comment was directed at, and it wasn’t even directly pointed at them. But the fact that they know is what made them disrespect Tom. Either they’re too cool for school because of their line of success this year and last year, or they’re just trying to be some bad boys of country. Personally, if I knew to photoshop, I’d definitely make a graph or something to show these idiots that they’re doing it wrong.
August 15, 2013 @ 7:25 pm
I’m just wondering why they assume a comment about ‘sh–y’ music is about them. As far as them ‘not caring’, well, normally when you don’t care what somebody else says, you don’t need to announce the fact.
July 23, 2014 @ 10:02 am
That’s hilarious Pablo!! Love it!! :))
August 6, 2013 @ 8:42 pm
These guys are so stupid for replying to that tweet.
They now think that they have the world in their hands. They can act and behave whatever that want based on just that one hit song they have. What a douchebag!
Bravo to the guy who send them the link.
Can’t believe they actually have the time and effort to scroll thrgh all their fan gals tweets to find that particular tweet and read The Boot! And even have the decency to retweet it.
I wonder if any brave soul is willing to send them a link to this page. Be careful, they might retweet and embarrass you! They can then see for themselves the amount of criticism and outcry they been getting from this website. Destroying country music as a whole, being the worst there is in the genre and everything.
August 6, 2013 @ 9:17 pm
I’m sure FGL has no idea who George Jones or Buck Owens are. There are plenty of people playing good old-style music and we play at music festivals but forget getting any attention from major labels. They want the cookie cutter crap that country music has become, it’s horrible pap.
October 19, 2014 @ 10:25 pm
It’s funny, I’m not a big country music fan, but I definitely know of and have heard the music of George Jones and Buck Owens, but this is the first I’ve ever heard of these twits FGL, lol! I have a pretty good feeling that in 50 years people will still know who George Jones and Buck Owens were, but they will say “FGL? Who’s that?” 🙂
August 6, 2013 @ 9:21 pm
These guys are an insult to anyone that listens to country music or an speak English. They are stupid, can’t speak English and just disrespect the old country music. If it wasn’t for the “forefathers” of county music you would not be out there with your curly hair and nice jeans walking around like a pretty boy.
August 6, 2013 @ 9:25 pm
Tom Petty didn’t need to say any names, because this proves that the “perpetrators” know who they are.
August 7, 2013 @ 8:22 am
Yup. Tom must have touched a nerve! 🙂
August 6, 2013 @ 10:02 pm
FLGAL and their success are just more proof that we really really need a black death to come and wipe out a third of the earth. It’s no ones fault really. It’s just the way it is. It’s time for a big flush.
August 6, 2013 @ 10:47 pm
If FGL spent more time listening to actual country music and less time bleaching each other’s assholes, they’d know that Tom Petty’s got more country cred in his little pinky – namely his work with Johnny Cash – than they ever will.
Cash, Petty & Rick Rubin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPIRXXqSVwU
Video of Cash performing “Rusty Cage” w/ Petty sitting in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtbuUlSGXzc
August 6, 2013 @ 11:11 pm
Thank you, FGL, for showing how NOT to respond to a comment with some dignity and common sense.
In about 5 years, after the buying public is done with these guys, the feeling from fans will be, “Do you think WE care?”. I can only hope the answer is NO.
I realize that FGL are the “big thing” in country right now, but we can only hope that there is a return to better songwriting, decent musicianship, and artists with a bit of integrity.
The music business is all about the cash, but these guys are pandering to the lowest common denominator, 24/7, and laughing all the way to the bank. The public needs to hold out for better music, not this air headed banter.
August 6, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
Unfortunately, by dedicating too much of our energies on Florida Georgia Line, we are overlooking the grim reality that there is a much bigger fish to fry that is actually most responsible for their emergence to skyscraping fame: Scott Borchetta.
Florida Georgia Line are just another couple of marionette puppets dangling from Borchetta’s phalanges. You can sever those strings, but it won’t stop Borchetta’s winning streak.
Once Borchetta is put on the defensive in any given context, that will be a measurable success. Unless, of course, Borchetta gets out-Borchettaed.
August 7, 2013 @ 12:16 am
Very true. Borchetta has yet to prove he’s human.
August 7, 2013 @ 4:16 am
I’ll be in Nashville in a few weeks. Maybe I’ll run into “Florida Georgia Line”… when I’m driving my truck around or something.
August 7, 2013 @ 5:07 am
I’ve been reading on this site every morning for a year. I enjoy the debates and arguments because whether or not we agree, I always learn something about my favorite genre of music. But, it’s nice that when a band is really as bad as this band and we can all come together and agree they are horrible. (Musically and as people). I have my “Tom Petty – Highway Companion” album right there with my Red Sovine, Hank Sr, Roy Acuff, Bob Wayne, Johnny Cash, and countless other country artists I love. The guy is a great songwriter and shouldn’t be disrespected by some talentless ass clowns like Florida Georgia Line. Thanks and good morning to all, except those bastards.
August 7, 2013 @ 5:16 am
Shit, what they should have tweeted was, “Do you think we know who Tom Petty is?”
August 7, 2013 @ 5:41 am
Who the hell is Florida Georgia Line? And why does anyone really give a crap about what some no name band says or does? Sure, they should respect legends like Tom Petty, but seriously, it isn’t like they had any credibility to begin with. Just let them continue their bleak existence among the thousands of generic bands that somehow get deals playing off an unoriginal style that is modernist music. Good day.
August 7, 2013 @ 6:10 am
If it’s not Florida Georgia Line, then it will be someone else. The music industry is built around selling music to teenagers, specifically teenage girls. Young people have a groupthink mentality and are easily minipulated. It’s not really a new concept in the industry (Beatles “Love Me Do”). I remember in the late 90’s there seemed to be a lack of good country music for young guys like myself at the time. Everything was becoming crossover then. Remember Mark Chesnutt’s “I Don’t Want Miss a Thing”, Alabama “God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You”, Mark Wills whole pointless career?. At least these guys aren’t wearing leather pants. I don’t hate these guys, I’m just pissed that there are no good alternatives.
August 7, 2013 @ 11:16 am
1990s? Hell that was going on in the ’70s. Conway had big hits with “Slow Hand” and Heartache tonight,” Bobby Bare covered “Sylvia’s Mother,” and on and on. I even remember hearing a country version of “Up,Up and Away” although I don’t think it made much of an impact on the charts.
Fortunately FGL doesn’t really seem like the kind of group that will really be able to sustain the roll that they’re currently on. I expect them to be opening a package tour with Gretchen Wilson and Trick Pony within a couple of years.
August 7, 2013 @ 6:10 pm
They will have a good run for a little bit, but they’ll get older and their fans will grow up and the magic will wear off. That’s when the lead singer will go solo. There’s no doubt Scott Borchetta already has that transition planned out.
August 7, 2013 @ 6:20 pm
By then Borchetta will have moved on to the next big thing. If it’s any consolation, it’s hard to imagine that the next big thing can possibly be any worse than this hot mess of a record. Scott Borchetta has a lot to answer for.
August 8, 2013 @ 5:52 am
In the 70’s there were a lot pop/rock acts that were more country than Nashville country. Marshall Tucker Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ronstadt, heck… with all respect to Charlie Rich – John Denver was more country than a lot of Nashville. I remember when David Allen Coe, Waylon Jennings and Hank Jr weren’t considered country enough. The current era of pop/country is particularly bad – but someone likes it. I stick with Americana and Bluegrass. There is some great music out there – I only wish it had more exposure.
August 7, 2013 @ 6:37 am
When further questioned about Tom Petty’s comments, Brian Kelley responded with “Why would we care what NASCAR’s greatest driver thinks about our music?”
August 7, 2013 @ 7:16 am
That “blackgrass”: Panopticon’s album “Kentucky”. It’s about miners in eastern Kentucky, taking its cue from Pete Seeger and Harlan County U.S.A., and it’s fantastic.
August 7, 2013 @ 9:15 am
Austin Lunn (a.k.a. Panopticon) not only has great taste in music, but he’s a heck of a brewer as well…like Tom Petty, quite a few metal heads have great taste in country music…before Mastodon blew up, I had a couple beers with their bassist Troy Sanders after a show…I asked him what he was listening to and the first two names out his mouth were George Jones and Ray Price…and he knew their respective catalogues like the back of his hand…asked Yob’s Mike Scheidt the same question a couple years ago, and Merle Travis was all he talked about….same goes for the grandaddy of southern metal Jimmy Bower re: Willie Nelson…he knows more about Willie than Willie probably does.
August 8, 2013 @ 8:47 am
So true about the metal/country connection. I love metal, and country-wise, I’m a very big classic country fan. You’re just as likely to hear me listen to Megadeth, Motörhead, Mastodon, or Merle Haggard. All are great music, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters. I find it really interesting that many metal heads are classic country fans.
August 10, 2013 @ 5:58 am
80’s metal was particularly bad. If modern country feels s need to mimick something, copy 70’s country/rock or southern rock or outlaw country or the singer songwriter movement or folk music or real country music. I really object to rap and scratches in country music. Is country music really just copying other genres and singing with a southern accent.
August 7, 2013 @ 7:50 am
Does anybody else hate the sentiment of “I am keep doing me”..or in FGL “We’re gonna keep doing us.” That shit drives me crazy. It’s fine to be yourself or “Do you” unless you suck then it’s time to make some life changes. Anyways, everyone should check out Rodney Hayden’s twitter account right now. He is going after all these rap/country dorks and it’s pretty damn funny.
August 7, 2013 @ 8:16 am
Ray Wylie Hubbard posted a something a couple of weeks back on his blog “You Kids get of my Lawn”. It was a list of questionable actions that younger bands take early in their careers. Well, by the end of the day, the TM for, let’s just an Extremely-Young Band, piped up and tore into Ray like he was a new guitar tech. Same thing here with Fat George’s Line. You now link yourself to this mediocrity that Tom was talking about you dumbasses. Before, everyone was thinking it. Now, everyone knows it. Aside from the really shitty music, is anyone, I mean anyone at all, teaching these kids about decorum or protocol? No hope for us. I mean no hope at all.
August 7, 2013 @ 8:18 am
Wonder why they felt a need to defend them selfs…. must have a guilty conscience…
August 7, 2013 @ 8:52 am
Tom is, as always, an astute senior fellow (and outstanding artist) of the music scene,.
And these narcissistic, vapid punks are the ones who are being petty.
August 7, 2013 @ 9:06 am
I’m not fluent in ebonics or twitter lingo, so I have no idea what those d-bags were attempting to communicate. Screw them and the pole they road in on.
August 7, 2013 @ 10:18 am
Clueless, ignorant and stupid. Not even worth a bucket of spit. Tom was right he touched a nerve. Sad state we find modern “country” music in, tragic really !
August 7, 2013 @ 10:19 am
Why should any artist care what Tom Petty has to say? He obviously has no idea what he’s talking about. It’s not like his body of work speaks volumes about song writing, musicianship, and ability to evolve and stay relevant through out decades…wait a minute. Boys, eat your words. Idiots.
August 7, 2013 @ 11:12 am
I guess it could have been even worse.
Florida Georgia Line could have said “soundz like Petty needs anutter dance wit Mary Jane! #goodonetyler #highfive #goodtimes ” (eye roll) -__-
August 7, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
Again Nashville says & accepts this as “country”. It’s only a matter of time before we have people like Snoop Dog winning an EOTY award at the CMA’s. After all, CMT is owned by that crappy network MTV.
August 7, 2013 @ 2:05 pm
” lazy, Ebonic-driven style of writing ”
huh? Don’t you think that sounds a little on the racial stereotyping side of things.
surprised.
August 7, 2013 @ 2:26 pm
Florida Georgia Line regularly uses purposely misspelled or Ebonic-style writing, singing, and jargon as a way to instill an element of the hip-hop culture into their music. “It’z Just What We Do,” “Baby You A Song,” are just a few of many examples. I don’t think there’s anything racial about it. In fact if I was of African American decent, I would be angered by it, because it portrays them as illiterate.
And by the way, I have just as much of a problem with it when artists wanting to portray themselves as redneck purposely misspell things too. It’s not authenticity, it is embarrassing.
August 7, 2013 @ 6:18 pm
ok, got it, thanks.
August 8, 2013 @ 8:12 am
The funny part to me is that by getting defensive, they admitted to being “bad rock with a fiddle” They could have just ignored it and acted like he wasn’t talking about them.
August 8, 2013 @ 2:03 pm
Indeed! They pretty much just exposed themselves here. Way to prove all your critics right, guys! Haha!
August 8, 2013 @ 3:30 pm
The only thing country about today’s country is LITTLE BIG TOWN, MARTINA MCBRIDE, Carrie Underwood (most) THEN YOU HAVE TO START BACKWARDS…. GARTH BROOKS, WYNONNA, THE GEORGE’S 🙂 strait and jones, TAMMY, JOHNNY, MERLE, BARBARA, REBA, DOLLY, DOTTIE, KITTY, PATSY FROM THERE THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. But FLAGA WHO???? Nah!!!!! I don’t like ANYTHING about them!!!!
August 9, 2013 @ 6:55 am
It seems like more and more is starting to get said about this….there is clearly a growing demand for non-bullshit country music. I can’t believe none of the “geniuses” in Nashville haven’t listened – I know that their main concern is profit, but I think that there is major potential in “our” little music world. I foresee the same execs, once the public finally tires of the same homogenized puree of auto-tuned bullshit, claiming that this has been their plan all along.
I foresee them marketing it as the new outlaw movement (for lack of a better term) and they’ll be talking shit on all the artists they were pushing hard a few years ago…..
I could also be way off, but I foresee either a radio DJ or some type of personality with a decent following carving out (minimally) a major niche in the market. I know for a fact when I play any of the good, new bands for non-country listeners, old-timers, and really anyone, that damn near everyone is very impressed and wants to hear more….time will tell
And I’ll end this with quite possibly the awesomest quote. Ever…….I found in an article about this same thing (Warning: reading this may etch this mental image into your brain permanently):
“If country musicians relied on videos, Eddie Murphy and Kevin Bacon would be in the Top 40.”
That’s from an “alleged” music journalist / critic……maybe my hopes are too high (or at least too soon)
August 9, 2013 @ 8:51 am
FGL=Fools Goofs Losers
August 11, 2013 @ 6:07 am
Tom Petty didn’t name these guys who are rap-rock with a fiddle by name but they flew off the handle all the same. They know their music is exactly the shit that Petty was talking about. Rap rock with a fiddle knows itself.
But really, what do they care? They’ve got a fan base now. They’re creations. Do one hit wonders really exist anymore in corporate Borchetta-country? They’re gonna go do another “country” song with a washed up rapper and it’ll sell more than Tom Petty has in about 20 years. Sigh.
August 11, 2013 @ 11:35 am
Who is Florida Georgia Line? I have never heard of them…..
August 12, 2013 @ 11:23 am
These guys are like the backstreet boys of “New Country”, Talentless, over-produced douchebags. Chances are they will be handing you a big mac at your nearest Mcdonalds in the next couple of years!
August 12, 2013 @ 6:38 am
Did anyone see Chris Stapleton’s open letter to Tom Petty?
Dear Tom Petty,
I think it’s safe to say most modern country artists, including me, would list you as an influence. Your recent comments lead me to believe you see room for improvement in modern country music. I, for one, would like to see you put you money where your mouth is in a tangible way. So, in the interest of making Country music less “shitty” (your words), I suggest a collaboration. I’m extending an open invitation to you to write songs with me, produce recordings on or with me, or otherwise participate in whatever way you see fit in my little corner of music. In the event that you actually read this and are interested, look me up.
Sincerely,
Chris Stapleton
Not sure why Chris took offense to what Tom Petty said. Did he really think he was referring to his music?
August 12, 2013 @ 8:44 am
I posted this as an update on the original story. Didn’t want to keep posting articles on a story that is already a week old and some people were already tired of seeing.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/tom-petty-slams-modern-country-as-bad-rock-with-a-fiddle
August 12, 2013 @ 10:51 am
“I’ve grown absolutely exhausted on the subject of modern country music and it’s salvation. It seems anymore like every time I turn around someone is asking me what I think about Country music today on radio/tv/etc. I never really know what to say and always walk away feeling like a rude jackass because honestly, I don’t care and I don’t know because I don’t really pay attention to any of it…ever. It has absolutely no bearing on my life.
However, If I had to choose one word to identify and isolate the single component that more than all other variables, hinders the road to progress and change, it would be…negativity.
If we all reacted as strongly to the music we love as we do the music we hate, only then will we ever begin to establish a road to change. Focus all of your energy on what you love and enjoy and just ignore the rest and you’ll be amazed how quickly it goes away from YOUR world and YOUR life.
Country music, much like the Earth, will sooner or later straighten things out all on her own…we should all focus more on saving each other.”
-Strugill Simpson 8/12/2013
Well fucking said.
August 12, 2013 @ 7:55 pm
I’m a fan of Tom Petty’s, but that comment from him has always stuck in my craw. He sounds like some East Nashville hipster snob with the “Only good country is the old country” stuff. Piss off.I think it’s interesting that country is the only genre of music that is expected not to grow, change, and co-opt other genres into its sound, things that EVERY SINGLE other genre of music has done. I’ll bet you Tom Petty hasn’t listened to country radio long enough to even know what he’s talking about.
I find what FLGALine does is a lot more intellectually honest than some guy who’s never ridden a horse coming in dressed like George Strait or singing with an exaggerated southern accent when he’s from Michigan. So if anything, those fake cowboy/phony southerner types are worse in my book because at least FLGALine isn’t making any bones about the fact that they like certain things and use those sounds in their music. FLGALine IS a rock band (they even said so themselves at the CMA Fest event I covered that they played at) and they don’t have a fiddle in any tracks that I’ve heard. So I don’t get why folks don’t understand why they’d get bent out of shape by some older artist (who should damn well know better at his age) disparaging the genre of music they are admittedly a part of.
I play all over the country and the folks I play for don’t listen to George Jones when they’re partying (at least not the parties I’ve been to.) They listen to hip hop, 80s and 90’s rock, and modern country most of the time. So why on earth would one NOT expect those things to find their way into the music?
You want to know why younger country fans don’t know the history of the music? Because corporate country radio refuses to play music by any artist over 50, that’s why. It’s slightly more forgiving outside of Nashville, but it’s rare to hear music from even the biggest legacy names in country that aren’t George Strait on modern country radio (and they don’t even play George’s older stuff most of the time, it’s always the more current stuff.)
August 14, 2013 @ 11:47 am
“I find what FLGALine does is a lot more intellectually…”
Nothing says “intellect” like “It’z Just What We Do.”
August 15, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
First of all, while I disagree with a lot of it, I enjoyed your comment and it inspired me to reply.
The age thing? Well, Sturgill Simpson’s not over 50, Lindi Ortega isn’t over 50, Turnpike Troubadours aren’t over 50, Chris Stapleton isn’t either, or Austin Lucas, or Jason Isbell… and on and on and on. I NEVER hear their stuff (I mean their own recorded performances; I know Stapleton is a successful songwriter) on commercial country radio. I think it’s not about the age of the artists, it’s about the sound of the music.
Now, I’ve got a question for you, Adam. In 1983 you could hear maybe one oldie an hour on commercial country radio… maybe some early Merle, or Jim Reeves, or Patsy Cline, or even ‘Walking The Floor Over You’ from old Ernest Tubb. But in 2013 you won’t EVER hear a tune from the early 80s. No Paycheck, no Merle, no Possum, no Marty, no Tillis, no Ed Bruce, not even the pop-ish acts of that era (some of them sound pretty darn good if you listen to them today, like T.G. Sheppard, Larry Gatlin, Charly McClain).
I don’t know what your answer is to that, and I’d be curious to hear it (in part because you really seem to care about the music, and are a musician yourself).
Here’s mine: I think the reason you don’t hear older stuff today is because A) it would sound so much better than most of what’s on the radio now, it might upset the applecart, and B) maybe just as importantly, or more so, because the execs use the label ‘country’ but they don’t really believe that this music is the modern descendant of what used to go by that label. For about 95% of it, it’s just not the same music, no connection at all to what came before! Maybe it’s good music – a lot of concert-going and music-buying people clearly think so – but it’s cut off from the music’s past, even its fairly recent past. And I don’t think you see that w/ hiphop, a genre I don’t know well, but my sense is that a lot of those artists know, honor, and drawn on the work of EW&F, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Aretha, etc. Today’s “country music” is actually weird, if you think about it, in its almost complete airbrushing of the music’s past out of the picture.
One last point, I think it’s a low blow, and just plain untrue, to say that people like Trigger, the SCM readership myself included, or Tom Petty for that matter, want the music not to evolve. We don’t want everybody in country to be cover bands for the old tunes. Hell no! The music evolved from the time of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers up through Willie and Waylon and Merle and Tom T, and even Geo. Strait. But most of what’s happening today in commercial country, at least to my ears, isn’t an evolution from what came before. It’s a complete rejection of it. It’s like an invading army came in and took over.
September 24, 2013 @ 10:33 am
I love country music. But Georgia Florida Line is one of these worst country bands of all time. It’s disheartening to see any of their current titles at the number 1 spot. I’m happy for their success, but calling them a good country band because they’ve reached number 1 on the charts is like saying Kim Kardashian is talented because her show keeps getting aired on TV. They are horrible, please stop promoting terrible country bands. There are so many talented artists in country and it’s artists like these guys that make country suck.
October 16, 2013 @ 10:40 am
One thing that drives me absolutely nuts is their name “Florida-Georgia Line”. One dude is from Daytona Beach area and the other is from freaking central Georgia about an hour south of Atlanta. As someone who is from a city in GA about 12 miles from the Florida line it pisses me off cause I don’t want folks thinking those no talent ass clowns are from my neck of the woods!
February 15, 2014 @ 9:50 pm
Hey, FGL: Tom Petty knows what the fuck he’s talking about, so I suggest you listen up, He’s got about forty times your talent in the hand he strums his guitar with. And he’s fucking right you know. If you don’t take his word for it, take George Strait and Alan Jackson’s because that’s what “Murder on Music Row” is about.
May 8, 2014 @ 9:46 am
You guys are all stupid… FGL is the best. Just because they don’t sound like an old cowboy when they make their music makes them suck? And because they use modern vocabulary that makes them unintelligent? Get a grip and stop bring haters.
May 29, 2014 @ 9:01 pm
I’m assuming you’re trolling but if not…it’s not that they suck because they don’t sound like old cowboys. They suck because they sound like shit. This is the low-grade shit that is peddled to the entitled, ignorant millenials today and the only thing worse than the actual music is the smug, self-absorbed attitude of today’s music “consumer” who downloads crap music for free and expects free shit to be anything other than anything else that’s free: shit. FGL is terrible; sonic hate speech of the worse kind and their commercial success only confirms that the devil exists and some douchebags are willing to make a deal with them.
You should get a grip and educate yourself on music so that you don’t make an ass of yourself. Stop taking selfies while listening to your FGL soundtrack and do some research so you learn something.
March 25, 2015 @ 5:41 am
“You guys are all stupid”¦”
Naw, we’re just a little older and wiser than you, son. When I was your age, I thought I knew everything too.
October 18, 2014 @ 7:37 pm
FGL is the Nickleback of country music
January 1, 2015 @ 12:44 am
FGLs “music” is empty headed pop shit, not Country. Can you imagine that we’ve sunk so low in 30 years that we’ve gone from Ring of Fire, Mama Tried and She Thinks I Still Care to shit like ‘Cruise’?
March 25, 2015 @ 5:40 am
Of course they’re gonna keep doin’ what they’re doin’. They don’t have the talent to do anything more. But hey, no doubt they have legions of fans who don’t know better, so they’ll enjoy the ride while you can. Once they’ve worn out their cookie cutter, they’ll sink into obscurity, and if that’s good enough for them, who am I to argue?
All I know is that a true country artist lives forever. There’s no doubt about that. Who’s Big and Rich again? Or was that Rig and…
I find it interesting that somehow they figured out that Petty’s statement about a bad rock band with a fiddle was referring to them. I guess they already had an inferiority complex.
July 13, 2015 @ 11:24 am
Florida Georgia Line’s music all sounds the same. And that’s not a good thing. In fact, none of it is good in my opinion.